Chrissy Teigen and John Legend have a newborn at home for the first time in years — their older kids Luna, 6, and Miles, 4, haven’t needed diaper changes or bottles in ages. Now that Baby Esti is home, Teigen’s reflecting on newborn life. And — shockingly! — it’s not that bad!
In a new interview with The Bump, Teigen breaks down how easy the baby stage is compared to later years, and it’s all too relatable. “I was just shocked at how easy the baby is and how hard the other two would be,” the Cravings author said about bringing Esti home in Jan. 2023. “The baby is the easiest part of our life right now.”
At first glance, you may think she’s lost her marbles. A newborn easy? Right. But it makes a strange kind of sense. Teigen explains, “She’s very scheduled. She just needs love and kisses.” They also take a ton of naps, love snuggling, don’t move when you set them down … yeah, it definitely has its perks!
The older kids, on the other hand? “Miles and Luna are at the age where they’re very complex right now,” Teigen went on. “They’re moody, then they’re happy. They’re madly in love with her, but they’re very competitive with each other. They want attention, and they want to feel like we’re always listening to them.” It’s more exhausting than middle-of-the-night breastfeeding sessions!
“So we’re running through hoops all the time trying to make sure they feel like they’re still so important, because they are,” she went on. “Keeping up with them is way harder than anything baby-related.” Amen, sister! I have been saying this since we brought our 1-year-old home to meet his 4- and 3-year-old brothers. The baby is the easiest for us, too, from feeding him to entertaining him to getting him on a nightly schedule. And he has way fewer tantrums!
Teigen also shared her “rose, bud, and thorn” of life right now — aka, a highlight, something to work on/learn from, and a low point.
Her rose is her family. “The rose is definitely Esti as a person. And I’d say getting to see Luna and Miles as siblings — that’s really incredible,” she said. “I mean, John cried — like sobbed. He didn’t cry for the births. But when he saw Luna and Miles being so good to her when we brought her home, his eyes filled with water immediately. So that’s my rose.” How sweet is that?
Her biggest challenge right now is finding time for herself. As a busy mom, it’s hard to be selfish and take time for self-care, and Teigen admits that she doesn’t “do enough” on that front.
“My therapist will ask, ‘What’s something that makes you happy? Just you.’ And I’ll say, ‘Making my kids happy and making my family happy,’” Teigen explained. “And he’s like, ‘No, no. We’ve got to find something for you.’ And I’m like, ‘No, if that brings me happiness, doesn’t that count for something?’ So, yeah, I’m working on the self-care thing.” We have all been there!
The most challenging part right now for Teigen is recovering from having a c-section. “Normally, any thorns for the other births would’ve been like breastfeeding and stuff, but I just feel so seasoned now that I’m not even stressed about the breastfeeding thing,” she said. “It’s just the c-section was like a whole new ballgame. It was way harder than I thought it’d be.”
Bringing a newborn home may seem intimidating, even for seasoned parents, but Chrissy Teigen is right that it’s easier than caring for older kids in a lot of ways. Especially when you can just enjoy sweeter-than-banana-pudding snuggles while your older kids are at school. That’s the life!
Before you go, check out Chrissy Teigen’s best quotes about being a mom.
